Review Detail

"Lost Girls" is a captivating YA mystery/thriller that begins with Rachel waking up in a ditch after falling asleep in her bed at home. She soon learns that she is missing a year of her memories but has been missing herself for 2 weeks, thought to be the victim of a serial kidnapper. She finds triggers for some of the memories she has been missing as she returns to her new life, where she appears to be a completely different person- using drugs, lying to her parents, a whole new set of friends, wearing black, etc. We slowly get to the answers of what happened during the last year and why she disappeared as she pieces it all together.

It's a haunting story, and I absolutely could not predict where it would go. I did not guess anything like it was, so I will not give details so as not to spoil. There are several twists and turns along the way as Rachel regains her memories and connects the people who are now in her life and why. Most of it ends up making sense by the end, and it all comes together beautifully with great closure. No open endings here, and I really appreciated that as this book put me through an emotional wringer- it's dark and haunting and scary at times, so I needed the ending as it is written. This is an artfully crafted book.

Rachel is easy to understand and follow. Although it can be frustrating to the reader to not have the answers, we really get into Rachel's mindset and understand how she also feels- needing to know but afraid of what she will learn. Dylan, her long-term crush and boyfriend, is an intriguing character- a poet and fighter, and I really liked their relationship. It gives Rachel strength in a different way than her relationships with her family members, which are also really well written and lovely. Her father is a silently supportive man who will look out for Rachel no matter what, and she knows this. Her brother Kyle also cares for her in a loving sibling way, and he was a fun character whose scenes I really enjoyed. Her mother appears less but also provides her with support.

Rachel's former BFF Molly is a huge contrast to her new friends, and this was an interesting dynamic to reconcile between Rachel's past and present. It was interesting to see it all come together. I am not sure I would have made the "Fight Club" or "Black Swan" comparisons (though I do understand why they were made), but it made me think of the recent books "Dead Girls Society" and "Unnatural Deeds" largely because of tone and mystery, which I felt were the bigger elements of the book. Overall, this was a really fantastic, albeit dark, read, and I was absolutely captivated solving the mystery of her past and disappearance alongside Rachel.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are entirely my own.